After lazing around for a few days, Xu Chuanchuan's fingers started growing restless, and irritation filled her heart.
Noticing this, Murong Shi dragged Xu Chuanchuan out to go shopping. After all, shopping was a great way to release stress.
Murong Shi drove the car to the most prosperous commercial center in the city and pulled Xu Chuanchuan into a shopping mall there. Knowing that her lover was in a bad mood, she handed Xu Chuanchuan a debit card and said, "Buy whatever you want with this."
However, after thinking over the matter, Xu Chuanchuan said, "I don't really have anything I want to buy."
"Jewelry, perfume, cosmetics, skincare products, clothes, shoes, bags..." Murong Shi listed a few suggestions.
"These are all things that you like; I don't like any of them."
"What do you like, then?"
"I like you."
Murong Shi couldn't help but smile. Then, she pinched Xu Chuanchuan's chin and gently brushed her thumb across Xu Chuanchuan's lips, saying, "Quite the sweet mouth you have there."
After saying so, Murong Shi boldly leaned forward and kissed Xu Chuanchuan, ignoring the fact that they were in a public place.
After a brief contact, Murong Shi felt satisfied and let go of Xu Chuanchuan.
However, Xu Chuanchuan was frightened by Murong Shi's actions, her brown eyes darting around. Then, she said in a hushed voice, "There are people around us!"
"We're not celebrities, so what's there to be afraid of?" Murong Shi said as she hooked an arm around Xu Chuanchuan's shoulders and placed the debit card into Xu Chuanchuan's hand.
"I don't need your card. I have my own money," Xu Chuanchuan said as she pushed the card back to Murong Shi.
Turning to look at her lover, Murong Shi asked, "Didn't you spend all of your money buying that massage chair? Where did you get more?"
In response, Xu Chuanchuan took out her debit card from her purse and triumphantly said, "There are 30,000 yuan in here. I withdrew my royalties a few days ago."
After Being Bent by Reader had received over 60,000 yuan in donations during its serialization. However, as the book was still ongoing, Xu Chuanchuan could only withdraw half the money earned.
Murong Shi was a little surprised by this situation. Then, she smiled and said, "I still think you should use mine instead. My card has much more money than yours."
However, Xu Chuanchuan still shook her head.
Murong Shi paused for a moment before saying, "Are you that reluctant to use my money? I'm only trying to make you happy."
"I know. That's why I'm feeling very happy right now," Xu Chuanchuan said, smiling brightly.
Murong Shi found Xu Chuanchuan's smile looking a little silly. After tugging at her lover's cheeks, she whispered, "Silly Wife, stop being so calculative with me. My money is your money."
Xu Chuanchuan giggled and said, "In that case, it's alright for you to spend my money as well."
"Hm?"
Then, Xu Chuanchuan stuffed her debit card into Murong Shi's hand and patted her chest, saying, "Take it! I'll be raising you from now on!"
Murong Shi was momentarily stunned. She also couldn't help but be a little moved when she looked at Xu Chuanchuan's serious expression. Then, after hesitating for a few seconds, Murong Shi suddenly smiled and said, "It's going to cost you a lot to raise me."
"Don't worry! You can have all of my monthly royalties!" Xu Chuanchuan confidently stated.
Murong Shi found Xu Chuanchuan's attempt to act cool to be endearing. Unable to help herself, she kissed her lover again and said, "My wife, you're the best!"
To Murong Shi, 30,000 yuan could hardly be considered pocket money. It wasn't even enough for her to buy a handbag. So, what she ended up doing with Xu Chuanchuan's card was buy a bunch of snacks.
Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when she saw that the bill totaled only a few hundred yuan. After they arrived at a sparsely populated area, Xu Chuanchuan looked at Murong Shi's beautiful face and said, "Sorry to have made you go through all this."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I had you spend money, yet you ended up buying only things that I like," Xu Chuanchuan said. Then, blinking her eyes innocently, she asked, "Why does it feel like you're raising a daughter?"
Murong Shi chuckled upon hearing this. Then, she said, "What daughter? Don't you mean sister?"
"..." There she goes again.
The two each held one side of the grocery bag. While making their way to the car, Murong Shi suddenly leaned into Xu Chuanchuan's ear and ambiguously said, "Big Sister is thinking of eating Little Sister now. Let's head back earlier."
Xu Chuanchuan's sensitive ear instantly turned bright red. Then, she looked up at the bright sky and asked, "Now???"
"Now," Murong Shi repeated. Then, looking deeply into Xu Chuanchuan's eyes, she continued, "You've ignored me for several days now. I can't wait any longer."
Xu Chuanchuan lowered her head out of embarrassment. Because of the plagiarism problem, she hadn't eaten or slept well these past few days. Naturally, she hadn't been in the mood for intimacy, either.
"I'm sorry."
"Let's go."
Murong Shi drove her car as if she were piloting a plane. When Xu Chuanchuan realized how eager Murong Shi was to do those things to her, her face heated up as she said, "Drive slower."
Unfortunately, Murong Shi's body contained too much passion for her to slow down right now. Although she knew Xu Chuanchuan had been joking, when she heard Xu Chuanchuan saying "I'll be raising you," she wanted nothing more than to drag her lover to a bed right away.
There was a red light ahead. Murong Shi retained some sanity in her mind still, so she didn't break the law. When the car stopped, Murong Shi thought to kiss Xu Chuanchuan. Unfortunately, as the adjacent car stopped very close to theirs, she resisted her urges and simply stared at her lover's face.
Xu Chuanchuan looked no different than usual today. Yet, for some reason, Murong Shi found that the more she looked at Xu Chuanchuan's face, the more pleasing she found it to be.
Meanwhile, when subjected to Murong Shi's scorching gaze, Xu Chuanchuan suddenly had the misconception that she had already been stripped naked. Then, noticing the changing lights ahead, she quickly said, "It's green now!"
Hearing this reminder, Murong Shi obediently retracted her gaze and resumed driving.
Afraid that she would get carsick, Xu Chuanchuan did not dare to fiddle with her phone. Instead, she made some light conversation with Murong Shi while keeping an eye on the traffic ahead.
Then, suddenly, the car zoomed past two familiar figures, and Xu Chuanchuan excitedly said, "I think I saw Ange and Fang Qin!"
Unfortunately, the car was moving too quickly. By the time Xu Chuanchuan turned around, those two figures had already become indiscernible.
Meanwhile, Murong Shi grinned and said, "It's nothing strange. Their ambiguous relationship has been going on for many days already."
"I wonder if they're on a date?" Her interest piqued, Xu Chuanchuan pulled out a phone and said, "I'll give Ange a call."
The call quickly connected, and Xu Chuanchuan tentatively asked, "Are you awake?"
"I woke up ages ago," Ange said.
"Are you still at the hotel? Do you want me to pack some food for you?" Xu Chuanchuan asked.
"Uh, I'm outside," Ange said after some hesitation.
Outside? Xu Chuanchuan grew elated upon hearing Ange's answer. Then, she said, "I think I saw you just now. Are you together with Fang Qin?"
Ange fell silent for a moment before answering, "Mhm."
"I see! Then, I'll stop disturbing your date now. Bye-bye!"
…
"..." Ange didn't even have time to explain herself before Xu Chuanchuan disconnected the call. Then, she awkwardly stored her phone away.
Seeing the troubled look on Ange's face, Fang Qin asked, "Do you have business?"
"I…"
Fang Qin didn't wish to make things difficult for Ange. So, she said in a slightly regretful tone, "If you're busy, we can go out on another day."
Xu Chuanchuan wasn't exactly mistaken when she said that Ange was on a date with Fang Qin.
After finding out that Ange had returned from Xian City, Fang Qin had taken the initiative to call her and invite her out several times. However, Ange had constantly refused Fang Qin's invitations using various reasons.
Even so, Fang Qin did not give up. Instead, she visited Ange at the hotel today and frankly asked, "Miss Author, are you really so busy?"
Ange knew that some things could not be avoided, so she let Fang Qin into her room.
After not meeting for several days, the two of them had grown distant once more. Ange was afraid that Fang Qin would bring up her confession again, so she excused herself and took a bath.
Meanwhile, Fang Qin patiently waited outside. She did not grow annoyed even after waiting for half an hour. And when she saw Ange leaving the bathroom, she even greeted the other party with a bright smile.
"You haven't eaten yet, right? How about we get some food outside?"
Ange didn't know if it was because of the hot bath messing with her head or something else, but she ended up nodding to the invitation.
After the meal, Fang Qin invited Ange to watch a movie, asking, "Do you watch movies normally?"
Ange's daily life consisted of writing novels, reading books, sleeping, and gaming. As for watching movies… The movies she watched were mainly 18+ yuri films originating from a certain island country.
If she finds out that I normally use these things to pass time, she'll probably look down on me, right? She might even run away out of fright.
Naturally, Ange did not tell the truth. Instead, she said in a disinterested tone, "Rarely."
"Do you want to watch one?" Fang Qin patiently asked, taking the boiling frog approach. "The cinema is just ahead. We'll reach it in a few minutes."
Ange did not refuse the invitation.
The movie they chose was an American science fiction blockbuster. Both the fighting scenes and music were exciting. However, Ange remained absent-minded throughout the show.
They didn't buy any snacks when entering the cinema, so both of them were empty-handed. When the lights went out, Ange noticed that her right hand placed on her thigh was very close to touching Fang Qin's thigh. When she thought to move away, someone suddenly caught her right hand, causing her heart to skip a beat.
Although Fang Qin stared intently at the big screen in front, her left hand gradually tightened and enveloped its prey.
Ange's breathing stagnated, and she subconsciously tried to retract her hand.
However, Fang Qin turned to look at Ange and warmly smiled before whispering, "It's a little cold here, so let me give you some warmth."
"..." Ange gave up struggling.
When the 90-minute movie ended, Ange couldn't even remember what she just watched. Then, the two of them left the cinema along with the crowd.
Chilling winds blew outside the cinema. Yet, Ange did not feel cold at all when struck by these winds because at this moment, Fang Qin was tightly holding onto one of her hands. She felt as if a bundle of flames was burning where their hands connected, and the heat from these flames spread across her bones and reached her heart.
Ange wanted to say "You can let go now," but eventually chose to swallow her words.
She couldn't bear to part with this comfortable warmth.
After the two silently walked hand in hand for a while, Fang Qin suddenly stopped and said, "My place is nearby. Do you want to go check it out?"
"..." Ange's expression subtly changed. Then, she asked, "You brought me here on purpose, didn't you?"
First, they had lunch together. Then, they watched a movie together. Now, they were going to visit Fang Qin's house.
In response, Fang Qin smiled and frankly said, "That's right."
...I'll pretend I didn't hear that.
"It's raining!" someone suddenly shouted.
Then, a drop of rainwater fell on the tip of Ange's nose. However, before Ange could react, she felt her right hand being squeezed and heard Fang Qin saying, "Let's run!"
The rain gradually increased in intensity and eventually transformed into a heavy downpour. By the time they reached the car, they were already drenched.
Ange wiped away the water on her face while panting in exhaustion. Then, turning to Fang Qin, who looked equally as miserable, she complained, "Why does it always rain when I meet you?"
In response, Fang Qin chuckled and said, "Tang Xin, this is heaven's will."
"..."
Now that both of them were drenched, Fang Qin decided to drive the car back to her rented apartment.
"I'll go prepare the bath for you."
Pulling on Fang Qin's sleeve, Ange awkwardly said, "Who said I wanted to take a bath?"
Looking at Ange's wet hair and clothing, Fang Qin softly said, "You'll catch a cold if you don't warm up."
"Even so, I'm not going to bathe at your place."
"What are you afraid of?" Fang Qin asked with an ambiguous smile.
"..."
"Afraid I'll peek?"
Looking away, Ange cleared her throat and said, "Just borrow me a hairdryer. I'll dry my hair first…"
"Tang Xin."
"Hm?"
"Stop worrying. I know you like me too."
After saying so, Fang Qin pushed Ange against the wall without giving the other party a chance to refute. Then, she kissed Ange with her cold lips moistened by rainwater.